The Nutcracker of Hogwarts
by DJ Lady Moony
Summary: -Completed- On Christmas Eve of their Seventh Year in Hogwarts, James gives Lily a special gift that turns out to be more magical than all their years in school...
1. The Christmas Eve Gift

Hello and welcome to "The Nutcracker of Hogwarts"! I am Sarah J. Potter, your author for the duration of the story, which I hope you'll stay with through the end. Before we begin, I'd like to say a few things:

1) The Harry Potter Series and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them for no reason other than I thought James Potter and Lily Evans would be perfect for this story.

2) This story is based upon "Nutcracker" by E.T.A. Hoffmann- it uses some of his ideas, most of his themes and a few of his characters. Once again, not being used for any reason other than I thought it would work great with James and Lily

3) I hope you enjoy this story. Happy Holidays!

* * *

It was Christmas Eve at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While most students had gone home for the holidays, there were a few that remained behind. Some were younger students, unable to go home for various reasons, but most were seventh years, wanting to spend their last Christmas at Hogwarts at Hogwarts. Lily Evans was one of these seventh years.

"Hey Evans!" Lily let out a soft groan when she heard that particular voice call her last name. She looked up from the book she was reading to see James Potter standing in the entranceway of the Great Hall with his trademark egotistical grin on his face. His hands were behind his back as he walked towards her, still grinning like an idiot.

"What do you want, Potter?" she asked when he sat down beside her, a hint of annoyance in her voice. She hadn't seen him for the most part of the day, but she knew he would catch up to her eventually… she had hoped it wouldn't be until dinner that evening, rather than half past two. "If you're going to ask me out again, the answer is still no." James, still grinning, shook his head and pulled a box out from behind his back. It was wrapped in bright scarlet paper, tied with shimmering gold ribbon and decked off with a bow of the same color. "What's this?" Lily asked.

"It's for you," James replied. "Wrapped it myself, no magic or anything." Lily looked up at him, a disbelieving look on her face.

"Oh really? Is that why I haven't seen you until now?"

"Precisely. I took a great deal of time to make it look perfect, because anything less isn't good enough for you." Lily rolled her eyes.

"Christmas isn't until tomorrow Potter," she reminded him. "Why am I getting this now?" James's grin turned into a pleasant smile, one that Lily didn't recall ever seeing before. She liked it. She liked it a lot.

"In my family," he said. "We're allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve."

"But I'm not in your family."

"Ah, but I am! And in me giving this to you, it means that you can open it now!" Lily raised an eyebrow, trying not to smile.

"How do you figure that?"

"…I just do. Go on, open it!" Lily let out a sigh and began to carefully unwrap the package, making sure not to rip the paper or ruin the bow. "What are you doing that for?" cried James. "Just open it!" Lily looked at him, a sly grin on her face.

"Well," she replied. "You worked so hard to wrap this and make it perfect that I didn't want to ruin it." James shut up when she said that and waited patiently (well, patiently for James Potter, anyway) for her to finish unwrapping the paper and opening the box it covered.

A few minutes later, Lily pulled a funny looking doll out of the box, looking at his every detail. He was a soldier, with bright blue eyes, a cherry red nose and bright rosy cheeks. His hair was snow white, as was his long beard. His uniform was hunter green with gold buttons and trim and there was a blue gem on the front of his hat. His sword was at his side and there was a lever on his back that moved his jaw up and down.

"Oh, James," Lily said, her voice full of awe. "He… he's… what is he?" James continued to smile as he reached for a walnut out of a bowl in front of he and Lily on the table.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing towards the doll. Lily nodded and handed him to James, who was surprising gentle with the doll.

He carefully set him down on the table and lifted the lever on his back. James then put the nut into the doll's open mouth, gently pressing the lever down until he and Lily heard a crack. He picked the doll up off the table and leaned him foreword, dumping a cracked nut into his hand.

"It's a Nutcracker," James said, handing the doll back to Lily. "Go on, give it a try." Lily took a nut out of the bowl and did exactly what she had seen James do. The nut cracked in the doll's mouth and she dumped it into her hand before popping the nut into her mouth. "Do you like him, Lily?"

"I love him, James," Lily replied, happily. "He's absolutely wonderful…" Not realizing what she was doing, Lily leaned over and kissed James on the cheek. "Thank you so much." James eyes widened and he felt his face get very warm.

"The… the lady I bought it from," he stammered. "She told me a story about this guy… would you like to hear it?" Lily nodded.

"Okay." James grinned, regaining his composure.

"Well, it happened a long time ago…"


	2. The Nutcracker's Tale

Wowzers! Ten reviews on the first chapter! That's a record for me! :-D Time to answer a few of them! 

SleepOverBabe13: I got your review this morning when I checked my email and it made me laugh. I'm sorry if it's confusing you or...whatever.

Hitomi Fanel: It is pretty cute isn't it? Thanks for your review!

genkai young: I suck at proof reading and spell check never works as good as it should. Please bare with me. hehehe

starblaze: Yes, there is another chapter! Here it is!

And now, ON WITH THE FIC!

* * *

Once upon a time, in a land far away known as Newton, there was a powerful Wizard family by the name of March. It was a small family, a mother, father and a young daughter by the name of Priscilla. Cilla, as she was called had long curly golden hair, dark brown eyes and a bright smile that made everyone feel cheerier just by seeing it. Cilla's father, Maximillion March absolutely adored her and showed this by showering her with many expensive gifts- the finest Quidditch set money could buy, the most expensive wand in Ollivander's and the fastest broom in all the wizarding world. And every year on her birthday, Maximillion threw a grand party in her honor, to which the entire town was invited.

Now, Maximillion was very fond of Chocolate Peppermint Pie. Only his wife, Tania knew how to make it exactly the way Maximillion liked it, so she was in charge of making the pies for Cilla's party. The day of the party, Tania was finishing up the last of the pies when a mouse scurried out of a hole in the wall and onto the kitchen counter. She was dressed rather elegantly in bright blue dress with lace cuffs and a lace collar. Her name was Dame Mouserink- Queen of the Mice.

"May I taste of your pies?" Dame Mouserink asked Tania, a polite smile on her furry face. Tania, being the kind person that she was, smiled back and nodded.

"But of course," she said sweetly. "Do help yourself." By the time Tania had said 'yourself," all of Dame Mouserink's relatives had stormed into the kitchen and began to devour all the pies. Within moments, all of the pies Tania had baked were gone and the mice scurried back into their hole.

Tania instantly rushed to find Maximillion, her eyes welling with tears. When she told him what had happened, he was furious.

"Make an announcement!" he commanded his servants. "Whoever rids this mansion of Dame Mouserink and her kin shall have Cilla's hand in marriage!"

"Yes sir," the servant replied. "But… you're very powerful- why not do it yourself?" Maximillion narrowed his eyes.

"Because I hate getting blood on my hands."

Within a matter of days, the announcement had spread throughout Newton and eventually reached the neighboring town of Alfred. Within Alfred lived the Malfoys.

* * *

"Wait a second!" Lily cried, interrupting James's story. "You honestly want me to believe that there are Malfoys in this story?!"

"You think I believed it?" came the reply. "But the woman insisted that was the truth." He grinned. "Want me to continue?" Lily sighed.

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

Augustus Malfoy, the eldest son on the Malfoy family, had been admiring Cilla March since he first laid eyes on her. He didn't love her or anything, he just knew that the March's were very rich and VERY powerful. Two things he could really use in his life. But, like Cilla's father, he hated getting blood on his hands… nor did he like doing any actual work. But, he was rather bright, despite his many flaws, and he soon formed a plan to marry the beautiful girl. And the plan needed Dame Mouserink's help to succeed.

"It's very simple, Dame Mouserink," Augustus said with a smirk. "You tell your relatives to let themselves be caught in my perfectly harmless mousetraps, allowing me to get them out of Newton and somewhere else and I shall reward you all handsomely."

"Oh?" asked Dame Mouserink. "And what would that reward be?" Augustus smiled and nodded to a large copper kettle in the corner of the room.

"That is the Kettle of Prosperity," he replied. "With but a few words, it will make as much food as you command it to, whenever you command it to."

"Prove it!" Augustus nodded and walked over to the pot.

"Chocolate Peppermint Pie- simmerine!" Instantly, the pot began to shake and steam and a moment later a pie shot out and landed on the table in front of Dame Mouserink. "Do we have a deal?" Dame Mouserink took a bite out of the pie, chewed it up and swallowed before smiling.

"Do we ever."

Now, while Augustus was evilly plotting with Dame Mouserink, a young lad in the town of Newton had already created a bunch of mousetraps to catch the mice. He was a handsome boy, dark hair, blue eyes and a bit of a cocky attitude. He had a knack of cracking hard shelled nuts with his teeth, impressing all the ladies in town. Because of this skill, he was deemed "The Handsome Nutcracker."

Unlike Augustus, this boy had actually fallen in love with Cilla March and wanted more than anything just to be with her- her family's money and power meant nothing to him. All he cared about was Cilla. And his name was James Potter.

* * *

"All right, now you're going to far!" cried Lily. "A Malfoy in the story I _might_ be inclined to believe, but a Potter too? One with YOUR name?! Come on, James, how stupid do you think I am?"

"I don't think you're stupid at all, Evans!" James replied, defensively. "I swear upon the Gods of Quidditch and the house of Gryffindor that this is EXACTLY what the woman told me." There was a pause.

"All right. I believe you." James grinned.

"It was the Gryffindor part right?"

"No, it was the Gods of Quidditch thing. Keep going."

* * *

James took his traps to the March home and placed them around. They were simple traps, much like the ones you see today that kill mice instantly and hurt your fingers when they get caught in the wrong place. They worked perfectly and soon all of Dame Mouserink's relatives were at the big Swiss cheese in the sky, much to the delight of Maximillion March.

"Well done, my boy," he said excitedly. "I'm so pleased to have such a bright boy such as yourself marrying my daughter." Cilla looked please as well, smiling at the young lad. But there were two people… one person and a mouse not smiling. Both Augustus and Dame Mouserink were furious about what James had done. Augustus still wanted to marry Cilla and Dame Mouserink still wanted the Kettle of Prosperity… so they formed another plan.

Out of all the mice in Newton, only two had been smart enough to stay away from the traps- Dame Mouserink and her son, Prince Severus.

* * *

"Severus?" asked Lily.

"Once again, swearing on the Gods of Quidditch."

* * *

Prince Severus was a very different mouse. He had seven heads, but only spoke from the largest one in the middle. His fiancé, Maria had been one of the mice killed and he was out for vengeance. His mother was a powerful witch, even if she was a mouse. And she knew how to use her magic. As James took Cilla's hand to give it a kiss, Dame Mouserink ran over and bit him on the heel. 


	3. Slytherin Cruelty

"Faster than you can say Dumbledore," James said. "James began to transform. His ravish good looks vanished and his human skin turned to rough wood. He turned into a nutcracker, much like his nickname. Cilla screamed, telling her father to get the "ugly thing" out of her sight. James was taken away from Newton and ended up in the toy shop, where I bought him for you."

"That's so sad," Lily said, holding the doll close to her.

"There's more," James continued. "Dame Mouserink placed a curse on James- the only way he could break the curse was if he defeated Prince Severus… and if someone could look past his ugliness and see the beauty within…"

"That's sweet Potter, you telling the Mudblood a story." James' eyes narrowed as he looked over his shoulder.

"Don't you have some vampire to be necking with, Lucius?" Lucius Malfoy ignored him and snatched the Nutcracker out of Lily's arms. "Give that back!"

"Why should I?" asked Lucius, tossing it up and down. Lily tried to grab it back but he moved away from her and tossed the doll into the air again… this time letting it smash on the ground. "Oh now look what I've done," he said sarcastically, pulling out his wand. "Let me fix it for you." He pointed his wand at the broken doll. "Expelleramus!"

"No!" Lily cried. It was too late- Lucius had cast the spell on her doll, making it magic proof- she'd have to have it fixed the Muggle way. "You bastard!" Lily balled up her fist, looking ready to punch him in the face… but Lucius ran out of there before she could.

Lily fought back the tears coming to her eyes as she picked her Nutcracker up off the floor. He wasn't completely broken- his moveable jaw had come out of his head and it truly pained Lily to see him like this. James sat down next to her, reaching for the doll.

"Let me see him," he said kindly. Lily handed the pieces over to James and watched as he carefully put the Nutcracker's jaw back in place and tying a makeshift bandage around it with the ribbon that once wrapped his box before handing it back to her. "I used to fix my toys before I learned magic- once I get some tools, I could fix him for you Evans…" Lily just nodded, her heart broken at the sight of the poor Nutcracker. She'd only had him for a few minutes… but she felt there was something special about him… something she loved…

"Don't worry, Nutcracker," Lily whispered, holding him close. "I'll take care of you."

That evening, after much teasing and tormenting from Lucius and his cronies, Lily retreated the Gryffindor Common Room, sitting in a chair in front of the fire, cradling her injured Nutcracker in her arms.

"Lily?" asked a voice. "Are you all right?" Lily looked over her left shoulder.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore," she said, surprised. "Merry Christmas." The old professor smiled and sat in a chair next to Lily.

"Merry Christmas to you as well," he replied. "James told me what Mr. Malfoy did to your Christmas present and pretty much told me that if I didn't do something about it, he and his friends would. Although whatever they might do would be completely justified in my eyes, I told him to stand down and I took fifteen points away from the Slytherin house."

"You didn't have too, Professor," Lily said, trying to hide how pleased she was with this news. "It's just a doll…"

"Nonsense," came the reply. "As head girl, I'm surprised you didn't punish the house yourself." Lily simply shrugged.

"Didn't think about it at the time, I guess. I just…" She sighed. "I don't know." Dumbledore smiled, putting a kind hand on her shoulder.

"Someone gave you a gift for no real reason at all," he said. "You liked the gift and it hurt you to see it destroyed." He got to his feet smiling. "But it is Christmas Eve, Lily- magical things can happen." With that, he left the room. As Lily watched him go, one thought crossed her mind.

"James doing something without a reason… that's a strange thought."


	4. The Cure For A Broken Heart

That night, Lily found it next to impossible to fall asleep. She had left her dear Nutcracker downstairs in the Common Room, underneath the Christmas tree and for some reason she was worried about him. She knew it was kind of juvenile, but she found herself actually believing James's crazy story… even if she didn't believe it, she didn't want anything else happening to her Nutcracker. So, she quietly crept downstairs into the Common Room, over to the tree and picked up her injured toy soldier, holding him close.

"My poor wounded soldier," she whispered, kissing his cheek. She then walked over to the small chase lounge on the far side of the fireplace, and laid down on it. "Love is the best cure for a broken heart," she told her wooden friend, thinking about how cruel Cilla March had been to the pre-Nutcracker James Potter. "Maybe… maybe I can cure yours." Moments later, she fell fast asleep, the Nutcracker secure in her tight embrace.

"Where in blazes is it?!" James whispered angrily as he searched under the Christmas tree. "It's a wooden doll, it couldn't just walk away!" With the help of his invisibility cloak, James had snuck out to Hogsmeed, borrowed a Muggle tool set from a collector he'd met at Zonko's and snuck back into Hogwarts unnoticed. Well, mostly unnoticed- he really hated Filch's cat. And now he was trying to find the Nutcracker so he could fix it before morning so Lily would be happy… if he'd known the doll would make her so happy, he'd given her one long ago. He loved seeing her smile…

James was about to retreat to his bed, tail tucked firmly between his legs when he heard a soft sigh come from behind him. He turned around and saw Lily sleeping on the chase lounge, fast asleep. He smiled a bit, until he noticed she was shivering. He quickly ran up to his room, grabbed the quilt his mom had made for him last Christmas off his bed and took it down to Lily, covering her up. He then lifted her arm gently and took the Nutcracker from her. He hesitated when she stirred a little, but she didn't wake up.

James let out a sigh, relieved, before sitting on the floor in front of the chase lounge and began to fix the Nutcracker, being careful not to break anything else on accident. As far as he could tell, the wooden dowel pins that held the jaw in place and allowed it to move properly had snapped when Lucius "dropped" the doll on the floor. Getting a pair of pliers out of the tool kit, James reached into the Nutcracker's mouth and pulled out the broken pins. He then removed the other half of each pin from the Nutcracker's jaw, grinning slightly.

"They aren't part of the Nutcracker anymore," he said softly, pulling out his wand. "Meaning Malfoy's spell no longer applies. Reparo." He tapped the dowel pins lightly and they fused back together, like nothing had ever happened. James then replaced pins and gently hammered the jaw back into place. "If it wasn't for this wizard thing, I could make a killing as a handyman."

James got to his feet, the Nutcracker in his grasp and went over to his sleeping angel. He gently lifted her arm, placed the Nutcracker on the chase lounge and rested Lily's arm around him. He wanted to kiss her… just a peck on the cheek, she'd never know that he'd done it. For that reason…

"Good night, Evans." With that, he went back to his bed and went to sleep.

Lily woke up a short time later, a bit confused. Why was she downstairs? Then she saw her Nutcracker and remembered exactly what was going on… wait… her Nutcracker, he was fixed?!

"How the devil…?" Lily sat up on the chase lounge and looked at her doll, moving his jaw up and down carefully, as if at any moment he would break once again. But he didn't- his jaw remained strong. "Oh, Nutcracker," she whispered, hugging him tight. "How did you…" That's when she noticed the quilt. She picked it up and hugged it close. "Oh Potter… thank you…" She got to her feet, leaving her Nutcracker on the chase lounge and headed towards the stairs leading to the boy's beds, planning on returning James's quilt… but she paused in front of the tree. Was she dreaming… or was the tree getting bigger..? No… the tree wasn't getting bigger. She was getting smaller!

Moments later, Lily found herself pawing her way out from under James's quilt. Considering the fact that Lily was a witch, this shouldn't seem the least bit strange to her. This should be somewhat normal to her… but she was totally freaking out.

"WhatthehellisgoingonPotterifthisisyourideaofajokeIsweartoGodIamgoingtoKILLYOU!" she screamed at the top of her lungs… which to the rest of Gryffindor was barely a whisper. "Argh," she angrily, looking around. "What do I do now…?" She sighed, helplessly. Her wand was upstairs, in her robes. Even if she somehow got to her wand, it was at least twice her size. The only things that were her size were the toys under the tree and her Nutcracker on the chase lounge… oh and the mice scurrying around her.

Wait.

Mice?

Scurrying?

Lily's eyes widened as she noticed that there was a large group of mice, at least ten or fifteen running around the Common Room floor… they had her surrounded. The mice circled around her, a few daring to get close and tug at her nightgown. She pulled away from them, squealing a bit as they got close. Finally, she managed to get out of their circle and hide behind a large teddy bear. When she peaked out to see if they were following her… they were all gone.

"What's going on here?" she whispered, a bit timidly, her fearful eyes searching in front of her for the mice. But, as she was looking in front of her, she didn't notice the mouse sneaking up behind her. She didn't notice the mouse sneaking up behind her with the sword in his hand. She didn't notice the mouse sneaking up behind her with the sword in his hand… and seven crowns. One upon each of his seven heads. And his sword looked ready to rest in the middle of Lily's back.


	5. The Battle For The Common Room

Special Thanks to Princess Ria for her help on this chapter! Enjoy!

"Not so fast, Severus!" Lily's eyes widened as she looked up at the chase lounge, not believing what she saw. Standing there above her was…

"Nutcracker?!" The Nutcracker smiled down at her… no, actually he grinned rather smugly down at her.

"James will be fine, Miss Evans!" He called before leaping into the air. He did a flip in midair before landing a few inches in front of Lily, pulling her behind him. "Severus, I don't appreciate you trying to hurt Miss Evans…"

"I was merely doing you a favor, Potter," Severus sneered, sarcastically. "Saving you from the heartbreak of losing another love to the Malfoys." Lily let out a gasp, surprised. Cilla ended up marrying Augustus?! Gross…

"Then kill the Malfoys," James replied coldly. "Leave her alone." Severus rolled his eyes.

"Mice Soldiers!" he bellowed. "Attack!" Within seconds, the large brigade of mice that Lily had seen earlier had returned. They poured out of the walls, out of the fireplace, out of everywhere they could possibly pour out of.

"Not if I can help it!" James yelled, pulling his sword from its sheath. Faster than you could say 'stupefy,' he thrust his sword at Severus, aiming for his stomach. Severus blocked his attack and made one of his own, slicing James's sword arm, smirking as he clutched it in pain.

"You can actually feel that, Woody?" Severus asked, smugly. "I'm surprised." James sneered at him before swinging his sword hard at the seven headed mouse.

"I don't appreciate…" Slash. "You slicing…" Slash, swipe. "My good arm…" Slash, swipe, parry. "You lame excuse for a rodent!"

As James fought his battles with Severus, Lily found herself backed against a leg of the chase lounge, surrounded by Mice soldiers. If she hadn't been so frightened, she would have called for help… fortunately for her, she didn't need too.

"Sirius! You're needed, NOW!" Surprised, Lily looked towards the Christmas tree, wondering where the voice had come from. All she could see was a Jack-in-the-Box, waving his arms around excitedly, his eyes filled with a bit of worry. He looked like…

"Remus?!" The Jack-in-the-Box didn't reply… not to Lily anyway.

"For the love of GOD," he yelled. "Sirius, sometime before they kill her!"

"Well, I don't see you doing anything!" Lily looked to her left to see a tin soldier battling with the mice… all of them versus one of him… and he looked like Sirius Black, which for some reason didn't surprise Lily at all. Remus looked at Sirius, a trace of annoyance on his face.

"I'm a Jack…" Sirius cut him off as he ran his sword through another mouse.

"You're a Remus-in-the-Box, I know! Squish them or something!"

"Hey!" James yelled, still parrying with Severus. "Saving the girl is my job, you know!"

"Well, excuse us," Remus said as he hopped around the room squishing various mice. "You really weren't doing a very good job!"

"Honestly," Sirius added. "You nearly got her gutted!" James ignored his "friends" for the time being and continued his bout with Severus.

"Come now," he said, confidently. "Is that all you've got?" Right when he said "got," Severus' tail snaked its way around James's leg and tugged, causing him to fall to the floor. James's sword hit the floor with a clatter and was kicked away by Severus, who put his own sword at James's throat. "Well, this isn't good…"

"Not good at all," Severus replied. He then raised his sword, aiming it for James's heart.

"No!" Lily had been watching the fight between James and Severus ever since Remus and Sirius had began taking care of the mice. She watched in horror as Severus knocked James to the ground and got ready to run him through. She didn't know what to do… other than take off her shoe and throw it at him with all her might. Which she did.

The slipper hit Severus hard on the back of the head, causing him to lose his focus on James… and turn it on Lily. His eyes narrowed as they rested upon her and he turned away from James and started towards her. Lily stayed where she was frozen in fright. She could see James behind Severus, he was getting his sword and getting to his feet. But Severus was less than ten feet away from her… and his sword was ready to draw blood. She watched in horror as he thrust the blade towards her… and everything went black.

James grabbed Severus by the tail and yanked him away from Lily before he could hurt her.

"You won't hurt her!" James yelled, his eyes flashing angrily as he slashed hard at Severus with his sword. Severus, not expecting such a fierce attack from the wooden doll, fumbled to defend himself, barely managing to block the strikes James made. The angered glare on James's face soon turned into a dangerous grin as he faked a blow to the right before going to the left and striking a fatal blow into Severus's heart. The large mouse staggered back a few steps, his eyes wide from shock and slightly glazed over. A moment later, he fell to the ground, lifeless.

James walked over to Severus's now dead body, pulled his sword from where it rested and wiped it clean with the mouse's tail. He then walked over to the head… heads of the corpse, knelt down and removed one of the seven gold crowns that rested there. Once he had done so, he heard a light, sarcastic applause come from behind him. He turned around to see Sirius and Remus standing there, clapping.

"Bravo," they said. "Bravo." James grinned, getting to his feet.

"Not doing my job, eh?" he asked, walking over to them. There was a pause. "What?"

"Mate, you got saved by a slipper," Remus informed him. James waved the comment off with his hand, his grin not wavering.

"A minor setback…"

"And you made the girl faint," Sirius added, nodding his head to the unconscious Lily. "You just suck tonight." Remus chuckled, amused.

"He does have a point…"

"Both of you shut up!" James yelled angrily as he walked over to Lily, a concerned look upon his face. "Honestly," he muttered, I save the day and I get…" His words were interrupted by a soft moan from Lily, followed by a light stir. "Miss Evans?"


	6. Tangled Up In Me

Okay, line break isn't working, people! Fix it!! Anyway, the italicized words are a song by Skye Sweetnam called "Tangled Up In Me." It's a great song, and you can check out the video at Go do it! After you read this, of course! Onward!

_You wanna know more, more, more about me  
I'm the girl who's kicking the coke machine  
I'm the one that's honking at you 'cause I left late again_

"Hey Evans!" Lily let out an annoyed groan. Should she even bother stopping and turning around? He would chase her down until she did finally stop… and somehow that sounded a bit more fun. So she kept walking. She didn't quicken her pace, but she did keep walking. It was the little game she and James played… only James didn't know they were playing it.

_Hey! Hey! Hey!  
Could you see I want you  
__By the way I push you away,  
__Yeah!  
Don't judge me tomorrow  
__By the way I'm acting today  
Mix the words up with the actions  
__Do it all for your reaction  
__Yeah!  
Hey! Hey!  
Get tangled up in me_

They hadn't always been playing this game- for the first six years that they knew each other, Lily honestly hated James's guts. But as those years rolled on… she found herself waiting to see him in the morning. She found herself waiting to see his face light up when she walked into the room- his eyes would widen a bit with excitement and a grin would cover his face. She found herself waiting to hear his cocky voice call "Hey Evans!" from halfway across the Great Hall- she'd roll her eyes and sit on the other end of the Gryffindor table. At first it didn't bother her when he would sigh sadly and sit down, looking hurt… but after a while… it hurt her too. And then there was that one morning she didn't see him.

_You wanna know more, more, more about me  
Gotta know reverse psychology  
I'm the reason why you can't get to sleep  
I'm the girl you never get just quite what you see_

"No Potter today?" Lily asked one morning as she sat down next to Remus, who was sitting across from Sirius and Peter. Sirius looked at her, his face abnormally solemn. "What's wrong?"

"James had one of his famous four in the morning practices today," Remus told her. "He got knocked off his broom and hit the ground pretty hard."

"It's my fault," Sirius mutter, resting his face in his hands. "I didn't know he was out there when I hit the bludger…"

"Out where?" asked Lily. "Wouldn't he be right where you could see him?"

"Well, you really can't see much at four in the morning," Remus remarked. "But James was subbing for Kay Donaldson- she's got a devil of a cold and is in hospital." Kay Donaldson was the Gryffindor seeker, and a very good one. James wasn't as good as she, but better than the rest of the team, so he would sub for her if she wasn't available. But Lily didn't really care about her right now. She picked up her things and headed towards the hospital wing.

_Hey! Hey! Hey!  
Could you see I want you  
__By the way I push you away,  
__Yeah!  
Don't judge me tomorrow  
__By the way I'm acting today  
Mix the words up with the actions  
__Do it all for your reaction  
__Yeah!  
Hey! Hey!  
Get tangled up in me_

"Well Potter, I'm amazed that you managed to make a complete fool of yourself… then again, no I'm not." James looked towards the doorway of the hospital wing. His eyes widened a bit with excitement and a grin covered his face.

"Hey Evans!" Lily was leaning against the door jam, rolling her eyes in order to hide the relief she felt.

"Well, your obviously not dead," she remarked, walking over to him and sitting in the chair at his side. "So what happened to you?" James turned away from her, muttering a bit. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"I'm not supposed to say anything," he said solemnly. "Not even my friends."

"Well, I'm not your friend," Lily said, smugly. "Cough it up." James turned back towards her, a questioning look on his face.

"What do you care?"

_You think that you know me  
You think that I'm only  
When everything I do is only to get tangled up in you_

"You're right," Lily said, getting to her feet. "What do I care?" She turned towards the door to leave.

"A hippogriff escaped from Professor Kettleburn's barn." Professor Kettleburn was the Care for Mythical Creatures teacher and he kept all his animals in stalls in his barn. They normally didn't get out though. "I guess Hagrid was taking care of some of the animals and forgot to shut the place up," James continued. "The 'griff was flying around the Quidditch Field, I was reaching for the snitch when he came out of nowhere and…"

"And what?" asked Lily. "He knocked you off the broom?" James shook his head.

"No, he didn't knock me off." He took a deep breath. "I was startled, all right? Wasn't expecting a hippogriff to appear on the Quidditch field, you know." Lily started to laugh. "Thanks, Evans, that's very sympathetic of you."

"You're such a prat, James!" she exclaimed. "You got scared of something that you didn't expect, so what? Could have happened to anyone. Get over it." She turned away. "We've got a test in Potions on Friday, I suggest you use this hospital time to study." With that, she was gone.

_You wanna know more, more, more about me  
I'm the girl that's sweeping you off your feet_

Lily stopped outside the hospital door, letting out a sigh. That was close, she almost told him how she felt… how she thought she felt. Could it be… was she really falling for James Potter? A few years ago, that thought would have given her cold chills, but now… it made her smile.

_Hey! Hey! Hey!  
Could you see I want you  
__By the way I push you away  
__Yeah!  
Don't judge me tomorrow  
__By the way I'm acting today  
Mix the words up with the actions  
__Do it all for your reaction, Ya!_

Lily watched her Nutcracker fighting with the seven-headed mouse in front of her, worried to death. She didn't want him hurt, he had been a special gift… a gift of love that she loved very much. But now… as she watched the fight, she noticed that it wasn't her Nutcracker she saw battling. She saw James Potter. The real James Potter. _Her _James Potter. Severus knocked him to the ground and got ready to finish him once and for all.

"No!" She took off her slipper and threw it as hard as she could… and the mouse ran towards her. That's the last thing she saw.

_Hey! Hey!  
Get tangled up in me_


	7. The Nutcracker's Palace

"Miss Evans? Miss Evans, are you all right?" Lily moaned a little and opened her eyes a crack. She could see someone in front of her, but who…

"Nutcracker?" As her vision cleared, she could see her wooden friend kneeling over her, a relieved smile on his face. "What happened?" she asked. "Am I dead?"

"If you are, it's thanks to Captain Moron over there."

"Shut UP Sirius!" Lily looked around- they were still in the Gryffindor Common Room, Sirius and Remus were finishing cleaning up dead mice. Gross. "Miss Evans?" Lily looked back at her nutcracker- he had a gold crown in his hand. "You're not dead," he assured her. "This is for you," He placed the crown on top of her head, prompting her to smile.

"Thank you, Nutcracker…"

"Please, call me James. Come on." James took Lily's hand and lead her to a Christmas present that was on the floor- it was lying on it's side with the top open… and there seemed to be a light coming from inside.

"What is…?" James merely smiled at her and led her through the opening, which turned out to be the entrance to a tunnel. It was quite dark in there, except for the small bright spot near the end. Lily held James's hand tight, a bit nervous. It wasn't that she was afraid of the dark… she was just afraid of what the dark might be hiding.

"Don't worry, Miss Evans," James said kindly. "There's nothing here to be afraid of. Even if there was, I'll protect you." Lily smiled, moving a bit closer. It was nice hearing James Potter say that to her… even if this wasn't the James Potter she wanted to hear it from.

She didn't quite understand it. Other than the fact that her Nutcracker was… well… a nutcracker, he and the James she knew were identical, like twins. Same appearance, same facial expressions, same sense of humor… they were exactly the same… so why wasn't she having any feelings towards the Nutcracker? Sure, she loved the Nutcracker… but it was as a dear friend and nothing more. With James… her James… she knew it was more than that. After six years of getting pestered and hexing him beyond belief, Lily had fallen for James Potter…

"Miss Evans?" Lily snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Nutcracker James. He had a worried look on his face. "Are you all right?" he asked. "You've been pretty quiet."

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied with a smile. "And please, call me Lily." She looked at the light at the end of the tunnel, which was slowly getting brighter. "Where are we going, James?" He smiled back at her.

"My palace," he said, mysteriously. "A place where imagination runs wild and anything can happen." (A.N: -sings- Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination… ahem. Read on.) Lily chuckled a little bit, but her eyes soon widened as they gazed upon the majestic view in front of her.

They were standing on a white sandy beach, which under Lily's one bare foot felt more like sugar than sand, staring out over a shimmering rose colored lake. But what was beyond the lake, on a small island green with foliage, was what really took Lily's breath away- the large white stone castle that had windows with panes made of spun sugar and was surrounded by marzipan roses, daffodils, carnations… every flower you could imagine. There was a small dock pointing towards the island, made of ribbon candy and peppermint sticks. Next to the dock was a matching ship, with a gingerbread captain waving to James and Lily from his spot at the helm.

"Oh James," Lily whispered. "It's so beautiful… like a dream..." James said nothing. He simply smiled and gently took her hand, leading her to the boat. Once on board, the Gingerbread Captain rang a bell next to him, smiling at the couple.

"Next stop," he said. "The Bastion of Dreams."

"The Bastion of Dreams?" asked Lily, looking at James. "What is that?"

"My palace," he said, the smile not leaving his face. "I think you'll like it." He pondered this for a moment. "I know you will." (AN: Two references to the same movie in the same chapter. I must be nuts or something.)

Within moments they had reached the palace and James led Lily inside. She couldn't look away from all the fantastic things she saw- little people no bigger than trolls ran the hallways, but they weren't trolls. These little guys had pleasant smiles and wore bright, sparkling clothes, adorned with little round bells. They all looked at Lily and James, giggling a little before scurrying away.

"Those are elves," James said with a grin. "I guess they're not used to seeing such a beautiful girl here in the palace." Lily blushed a little bit, a smile curling her lips. There were two men that ever called her beautiful: her father and James Potter. Both James Potter's, the human and the Nutcracker. But… it didn't seem to mean as much coming from the Nutcracker James.

She was back to that again. She was with a person, an exact double of someone she had grown to love… but she felt nothing more than the love she would share with a dear friend or possibly a brother. She could tell that he felt a little bit more for her… but how could she break it to him… without breaking his heart?

"Lily?" she heard him say, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I wanted to ask you something…"

"Hm?" she replied, still thinking a bit about the James she left behind. "What's that?" For the first time ever, she saw James Potter… either James Potter look nervous. "James, is something wrong?" He shook his head.

"No, nothing's wrong," he said slowly. "You saved me, Lily- Severus would have gotten me for sure if you hadn't intervened."

"You saved me first," Lily told him. "If you hadn't called out when you did…" Right then, James got down on one knee, taking Lily's hand in his own.

"My dear Lily…" He gave her hand a gentle kiss. "I ask you, please- stay here at my Bastion with me, be my princess." Lily didn't know what to say. He had been so kind to her, she couldn't tell him no… could she?

"James," she said. "This place is wonderful, its more that I've dreamed…" She watched his eyes light up happily, causing her face to fall. "But…James?" He was fading from view. She could barely see his mouth moving, she definitely couldn't hear anything. Within a few moments, everything had gone completely black. Lily felt like she was falling… and falling… and falling…

* * *

I know it's a killer cliffy, but if you haven't noticed, there's another chapter after this!!! Review!!!


	8. Merry Christmas, Potter

"Lily? Lily, come on, wake up!" Lily could feel someone lightly shaking her. Even as lightly as it was, she was startled and sat up quickly… bashing her head into someone else's. "Ow! For the love of Quidditch!" Lily let out a gasp.

"Potter?!" She looked around- she was back in the Common Room, and it looked like nothing had happened. There were no bodies of dead mice, no blood, there was no way a battle had taken place here last night… but then, she looked at her feet. One of her slippers was missing. She looked under the tree- her slipper was lying there, next to an open present, lying on its side with the top facing her. And next to the box… was her Nutcracker.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Evans," James said, rubbing his head. "Although this wasn't exactly the greeting I expected."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, straightening herself on the chase lounge, confused. Everything that happened last night… had it all just been a dream?

"Are you all right?" James asked her, a bit of worry in his voice.

"I'm fine," she replied, shaking her head a little. "I just had the strangest dream and… I'm not even sure if it was a dream." Within a few minute, Lily had told James the entire story- the battle between her Nutcracker and Severus, the wisecracks from Remus and Sirius, the palace… and James just sat there, smiling. "What?"

"I told you that story was real," he said with a grin. Lily let out a groan, rolling her eyes as she got to her feet and walked over to the fireplace, standing in front of it, staring at the flames. "Lily? Is something wrong?" She shook her head.

"No, not really…" There was a pause. "He asked me to stay with him. Be his princess."

"What did you say?" James asked curiously.

"I didn't get the chance to say anything."

"What _would_ you have said?" Lily smiled a little bit. She had been trying to figure out the best way to tell him the truth… he was making it way to easy for her.

"I would have said no," she replied.

"Why?"

"Because," she said, her back still to him. "There's this guy I know... and when the mice came... all I could think about was not being able to see him again." She could hear James growl a little at the mention of this "guy," causing her to bite her bottom lip to hold in a giggle.

"I see…"

"This guy," Lily continued. "This guy has been waiting six and a half years for me to realize something." James raised an eyebrow, an amused look slowly appearing on his face.

"What?" he asked. "That this guy is a complete and total idiot and wasting his time?" Lily chose this time to let out her giggle, thinking that it would be appropriately masked. "Get it dead on, eh? Why am I not surprised." Lily giggled a bit more before continuing.

"The guy is a complete and total idiot," she agreed. "But…" she paused. "But, I was one too thinking that I could be happy without him."

James just stood there, his eyes wide with surprise. Could it be, could it be after all this time? Was the love of his life saying really what he long hoped to be true? Was Lily really saying that she loved him too? His heart melted like butter, he felt his knees go weak. He opened his mouth, but he couldn't find the words to speak. After all these years, now was the time. I can do this, he thought, I can make Lily mine! He ruffled his hair, and flashed her a grin. The moment was right, there was no way he couldn't win. (AN: Sorry for the poetics, I'm watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas" as I type this out, and as those of you who've seen the movie know, there's a lot of poetics in there. But that's it, I swear. Read on.)

"You know," he said as Lily brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, the familiar cocky tone in his voice. "You could have said all that in three little easy words and not gotten yourself all worked up."

"Oh?" asked Lily. "And what would those words be?" She could hear him start to walk towards her. She only needed him to take three steps… two steps… one step…

"I think you know what they are," James said. That was far enough.

"Caught you!" Lily exclaimed, turning around, a broad grin on her face. James looked at her, totally confused.

"Huh?" Lily continued to grin, then pointed above James's head. He looked up… and discovered he was standing under a sprig of Mistletoe. He said nothing for a moment, a blank expression on his face. But, after a moment, he started to grin. "That's not fair."

"Oh?" Lily asked, walking over to him. "Why not?"

"_I_" he said, "am the _master_ of trickery. To trick the master just isn't cool." A light giggle escaped Lily's lips.

"I won't tell anyone James. I promise." He rolled his eyes.

"Sure you won't." She smiled, putting her arms around him.

"It's locked away in my heart, James Potter," she said. "And you, yourself, hold the key." With that said, she pulled him close to her and gave him a kiss. James instantly tensed up, but he soon relaxed, taking her in his arms. He had, after all, been waiting for this since he was eleven years old. It was everything he ever dreamed it would be. Soft, but strong. Warm, but it chilled him to the bone. Sweet… bitter sweet. Was this all… just a dream? No, he decided. This wasn't just a dream. The Gods of Quidditch just wouldn't do this to him.

A moment later, Lily gently broke this kiss. Her bright green eyes looked into James's dazzling blue ones. Both saw the same thing- a person they loved. A person they couldn't live without. A person they would die for. (AN: I could comment, but I'm not about to ruin the moment.)

"Merry Christmas, Potter," Lily said softly, leaning against his chest. James smiled, holding her close and smoothing down her hair.

"Merry Christmas, Evans." That's when they heard the voices.

"Remus, did you get the pictures?"

"Yep, five of them. Man, Wormtail's gonna be pissed that he went home for the holidays." Lily and James looked up and the balcony over looking the Common Room to see Sirius Black and Remus Lupin standing there. In Remus's hands was a camera. James narrowed his eyes.

"Excuse me, Lily," he said, annoyed. "But I have to go…"

"Stupefy!" James's eyes widened. Lily had his wand in her hand… and his two best friends were standing there looking like… well, like himself in the Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley. James looked at Lily and smiled.

"God, I love you." She smiled back.

"I love you, too." He pulled her close again and leaned in for another kiss.

"This," he thought. "This is _obviously_ the best Christmas _ever._"

The End

* * *

I'm almost sorry it's over. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Later days! 


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